Morning folks. Well, as it turned out, the whole Balogun red-card debacle ended up having little impact on the result, as the Belgians quite comfortably knocked the final host nation out last night.

Or did it?

Because let’s face it, because of FIFA, because of Trump, because of the circus that followed the ‘bending’ of the rules for the USA, a lot of the post-match discourse was whether the US actually performed below par. You can see why. What’s that Mitchell and Webb sketch where both are German Naxi officers and they say “wait…are we…the bad guys?” – well, that’s probably how the USMNT felt yesterday. The media storm that had been whipped up because of Infantino and Trump’s actions meant that people like me were behind Belgium to win, not the US, which I think is a real shame. That USA team would have been underdogs anyway against the Belgians, I would have thought, but it flipped some of that narrative, and what ended up happening – by the sounds of it and reading the reports – was that it hampered the US players and empowered and emboldened the Belgium players.

I think I’ve said this before, but having a host nation go deep into a tournament is a good thing, because it keeps the vibes in the country still so pumped. I wonder if now we’ll see the US public revert back to more of their national sports and the World Cup takes a back seat, as US sports fans find comfort in defeat, but watching another one of the 12-million baseball games that seem to be on a season.

I said it yesterday, too, but I also feel sorry for Flo. He was the poster boy for this USMNT. He’d already bagged goals; his ex-Arsenal connection meant that all of us Gooners have a soft spot for him, and I wanted him to do well. But he found himself in the middle of a political storm that should never have existed.

It’s done now, though, and the Belgians advance to play Spain next, which I just can’t really see them getting past. They made it hard work for themselves against Portugal, until Luis de la Fuente realised that he had an international cheat code available to him:

Mikel Merino

Honestly, that man is a force of international football nature. Do you remember when Welbeck was with us? And every time he seemed to go away with the England team, he’d have a blinding game, and because super prolific? I was going to say the same about Merino this morning, but I’ve realised the error of my ways, because Merino IS a clutch player for us, just like he is for Spain. He doesn’t exactly have the same goal ratio for us as he does for his home nation, but if you think about the impact he makes for The Arsenal, you start to realise just what a player he is. The first goal that comes to mind is his equaliser against Newcastle last season, but I also have Liverpool at home from the season before in my mind. 11 goals in 48 appearances for Spain is a record that most strikers might be ok with, so the fact he gets goals from midfield is really something. All whilst being criminally underrated.

I think it’s probably because he doesn’t ‘stand out’ at anything in particular. He’s not the fastest; he’s a very good passer, but you don’t think of those eye-of-a-needle passes when you think about Merino. He’s not a dribbler that can beat a man. His key traits are things like duel-winning, or ground duel/tackles from midfield. So when I think about a player who is good at those attributes, my mind instantly goes to a more industrious style of footballer who is better suited to sit in front of a back four and break up play to redistribute. But Merino is not that guy. He’s kind of good at everything, but his intelligence in the final third shines through, and the run he made for the goal last night shows it. You can see why he works as a centre forward; that was a centre forward’s run and finish to win the game in stoppage time for Spain. After the end of the season and the injury he suffered, it was lovely to see our lad come out and bag a winner for his country. Fair play, lad.

Because he isn’t a speed merchant, or a winger, I could see him being very valuable to us well into his 30s too, I reckon. He is an expert at positioning himself in the right places in the final third, and I bet we see him coming up with more important goals for us next season as well. One of my new season’s resolutions needs to be to appreciate him more. He will deliver for us.

From an Arsenal transfer perspective…well…there really isn’t anything. Certainly, nothing we should be entertaining. When the BBC is reporting that we’re monitoring Wan Bissaka as an option should Ben White leave, you know it’s time to put down the gossip column reading and just stay away.

And so I shall. Got a couple of meetings in the City to attend to, so heading off there and I’ll be back tomorrow with more of the usual waffle. Catch up then.